Mark Isherwood
North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood highlighted the successful ‘Justice in a Day’ events recently held across North Wales when calling for a Welsh Government Statement this week on education programmes to discourage young people from going down the route of criminality.
For the fourth year running, the ‘Justice in a Day’ developed by the North Wales Police and Community Trust (PACT) in partnership with Clwyd Theatr Cymru, recently called at locations including Llandudno, Dolgellau, Prestatyn, Llangefni and Wrexham.
Mr Isherwood visited the project in Wrexham and was impressed by how the project brings current topics and pressures faced by teenagers and many young adults to life through an interactive drama.
Speaking in this week’s Business Statement, he spoke of the power of the project and called for a Welsh Government Statement on education programmes in Wales to discourage young people from going down the route of criminality by making informed choices and encouraging good citizenship.
He said: “You will be aware of the ‘Justice in a Day’ events across North Wales in recent weeks and months, run jointly between the Police and Community Trust and Clwyd Theatr Cymru, with professional actors working with young people aged 14 and 15 from schools through drama on issues such as youth assault, peer pressure, underage drinking, use of social media, and how to tackle those.
“A statement on education programmes to discourage young people from going down the route of criminality by making informed choices and encouraging good citizenship would be welcome. My last recollection of a reference to this was in the Substance Misuse Strategy, when the Welsh Government was highlighting the work of South Wales Police going into schools in a uniformed capacity, but the power of this is that it is a partnership with the police, but delivered by actors in an interactive environment with no uniforms present.”
The Minister for Local Government and Government Business, Lesley Griffiths, said: “I am aware of many educational programmes that are being undertaken right across Wales with young people to prevent them entering the criminal justice system. Just last week I visited South Wales Fire and Rescue Service and its Project Bernie, which works with young people in that way. I am sure that the Minister for education can look at that as part of the curriculum review.”
